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‘Knock them in the teeth.’ How Trump turns crises into leverage.

President Trump walks to a helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 14, the 24th day of the partial government shutdown, which by then had already become the longest in U.S. history. Credit: Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post

The 800,000 federal workers who are expected to miss their second paycheck in the coming days are the most extreme example yet of a negotiating tactic President Trump has used repeatedly since taking office.

He creates — or threatens to create — a calamity, and then insists he will address the problem only if his adversary capitulates to a separate demand.

Trump has described this approach as creating leverage and negotiating, but Democrats and other opponents have said it amounts to “hostage taking.”

View the complete January 22 article by Damian Paletta and Josh Dawsey on The Washington Post website here.

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